NEW YORK — For the first time since he made his NHL debut three years ago, Nazem Kadri is a Maple Leaf and not facing constant questions about how long that will be the case. Trade rumors have quieted down a bit, the 22-year-old forward is getting regular minutes on Toronto's third line, and given a rare chance to breathe, Kadri has excelled with three goals and two assists in four games.

This figures to be the third straight season in which Kadri sees significant action for both the Maple Leafs and the Toronto Marlies, their AHL affiliate. In 2010-11, he played 44 games in the minors and 29 in the NHL. Last season, it was 48 games with the Marlies and 21 with the Leafs. So far in 2012-13, it's a 27-4 split, but that is because of the lockout — and in fact part of the reason that Kadri now seems so securely part of Toronto's plans at the NHL level.

Nazem Kadri's spot on the Maple Leafs is secure, and he's making the most of it. (AP Photo)

"It's definitely a little relieving, but that being said, I worked my butt off," Kadri said on Saturday after the Maple Leafs' morning skate at Madison Square Garden. "I earned this spot. It's not like I came into camp and it was automatically given to me. It hasn't been like that the last few years, and I didn't really expect anything less. I came in ready to go and all along, I kind of knew I could do it, it was just that I needed my coaching staff to believe in me, and that's what's happened."

While it is fair to debate whether Kadri would have blossomed sooner had former coach Ron Wilson and former general manager Brian Burke handled him differently, there is no question that Toronto's changes in suits have suited Kadri well. He will not be perfect, because he is a 22-year-old player with 55 games of NHL experience, but not having to wonder whether he's one bad play from the AHL can free Kadri to play with a clearer head.

"I hope it does," Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. "We all make mistakes. That's part of life is that if you learn from your mistakes and don't continue to make the same ones, consecutively, there's a learning curve that a young player's gaining. I think that goes with experience and it goes with maturity. There are steps that he's taken. It goes back to (Marlies coach) Dallas Eakins. I have the luxury of having what Dallas has developed."

Eakins made headlines in September when he talked about Kadri's body-fat percentage at Marlies training camp, but that was more about the importance of nutrition than suggesting that Kadri, who trained with Gary Roberts over the summer, was out of shape. Kadri had 26 points and 27 games for Toronto's AHL club before getting the call for NHL camp.

The other important thing about Eakins' camp criticism was that it focused on something that Kadri had the ablility to control. The point was that even though he did well at fitness testing, he could be better. That message was received.

"Now that I'm here, I've got to make sure that I stay here and not take my foot off the gas pedal," Kadri said. "I had a coach down there who gave me every opportunity to succeed, and he wanted to see me up here as bad as I wanted to be up here. He helped me in that aspect, and I was logging a lot of minutes down there, learning responsibilities that I could apply up here, and I think that's what's made me more calm and more poised."

Kadri still has the same talent that the Maple Leafs saw when they made him the No. 7 pick at the 2009 draft, but the player that his teammates are seeing now is quite different, as getting through the trials and tribulations of the last three years have shaped him right along with the coaching he has received.

Carlyle, in turn, is putting Kadri in position to succeed. He has started an amazing 83.6 percent of his even-strength shifts in the offensive zone and is averaging 3:22 a game on the power play. And right now, he's making the most of the opportunity—through four games, his puck possession numbers are better than any other Leafs forward. If he keeps that up, he won't need to continue shooting 27.3 percent—which is good, because maintaining that is impossible.

"He's now more aware on how he's matching not only on the offense, but taking responsibility on the defensive game," Maple Leafs defenseman Carl Gunnarsson said. "He's always had the skill, but there's more aspects to it, too. Confidence is everything in this sport."

Kadri is playing with confidence, his team is showing confidence in him, and the results are plain to see.

"With Nazzy, there's been lots of attention paid to his development, lack of it, all of the issues that any young player goes through," Carlyle said. "When you're a profile player in a profile market, there's a lot more pressure. What we've tried to do is just try to stay grounded — just do what you do and do what you do best. You don't have to do anything spectacular out there, you've just got to go out and be yourself."